1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk drive apparatus for performing at least one of recording information onto or reproducing information from a recording medium, for example, a disk. In particular, the present invention relates to a disk drive apparatus provided with a damping mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 21 is a perspective exploded view showing a conventional damping mechanism in a disk drive apparatus. As shown in FIG. 21, a disk drive motor 1002 for driving a disk 1001 is fixed onto a base 1003, and two guide axes 1005 are fixed onto the base 1003 so as to be parallel to each other. Furthermore, a recording/reproducing head 1004 for recording information onto or reproducing information from the disk 1001 is supported by the guide axes 1005 so as to move in a radial direction (represented by an arrow 1009) of the disk 1001. The base 1003 is fixed onto a chassis 1008 via damping portions 1007 made of rubber resin disposed at four corners. The damping portions 1007 are fixed between the chassis 1008 and the base 1003 with screws (not shown) or the like.
The damping function in a conventional disk drive apparatus with the above-mentioned structure will be described.
The recording/reproducing head 1004 moves in the radial direction 1009 along the disk 1001 which rotates at a high speed, thereby recording information onto or reproducing information from the disk 1001. At this time, the high-speed rotation of the disk 1001 and the high-speed movement of the recording/reproducing head 1004 in the radial direction 1009 cause mechanical vibrations.
Thus, in a disk drive apparatus requiring low noise and low vibrations, in order to prevent the above-mentioned mechanical vibrations from being propagated to outside the apparatus, attempts have been made to attenuate the mechanical vibrations by using the damping portions 1007.
Attempts have also been made to attenuate the mechanical vibrations by using the damping portions 1007 for the purpose of enhancing vibration resistance and shock resistance of the disk drive apparatus, i.e., for the purpose of minimizing the propagation of the mechanical vibrations of the chassis 1008 (caused by shock and vibrations outside the apparatus) to the recording/reproducing head 1004, and the like.
In a recording/reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducing information with respect to a hard disk, an optical disk, or the like, a higher density of information recorded on the disk, a larger amount of space of the disk, a higher data transfer speed involved in high-speed rotation of the disk, and a shorter access time are desired. Furthermore, recently, in order to adapt to a note-size personal computer, there has been a demand for a thinner disk drive apparatus with decreased power consumption and lower noise.
It is desired to substantially enhance tracking control precision of the recording/reproducing head, along with a higher density of information recorded on the disk and a higher capacity of the disk. However, by doing so, the mechanical vibrations caused by the high-speed rotation and high-speed access of the disk in the disk drive apparatus cause external disturbance vibrations, resulting in a decrease in tracking control precision. on the other hand, there has been a demand for a thinner disk drive apparatus with decreased power consumption and lower noise.
Therefore, in a disk drive apparatus, it is desired to provide a damping mechanism for efficiently suppressing internal vibrations and enhancing vibration resistance and shock resistance in a limited available space.
In the conventional damping mechanism shown in FIG. 21, the damping portions 1007 are fixed between the chassis 1008 and the base 1003 with screws (not shown) or the like. Therefore, it is difficult to render the disk drive apparatus thinner by incorporating such a conventional damping mechanism. Furthermore, the available space of the damping portions 1007 tends to be reduced, which makes it difficult to increase a design flexibility. Consequently, the effect of attenuating vibrations of the damping portions 1007 is degraded.
Furthermore, considering horizontal and vertical setting conditions of a disk drive apparatus, and that various conditions of the mechanical vibrations caused by the movement of the recording/reproducing head 1004 are concentrated in the radial direction 1009, it is required to provide the vibration attenuating characteristics of the damping portions 1007 with anisotropy, by rendering an intrinsic vibration frequency of the damping portions 1007 in the radial direction 1009 different from that of the damping portions 1007 in a tangential direction (represented by an arrow 1014) orthogonal to the radial direction 1009. However, in the case of using substantially spherical damping portions 1007 as shown in FIG. 21, it is difficult to realize anisotropy of the intrinsic vibration frequency between the radial direction 1009 and the tangential direction 1014. Accordingly, a damping effect is not sufficient.
Furthermore, there is a limit to a space accommodating vibrations of the disk drive apparatus, so that the base 1003 should be disposed substantially horizontal. However, in general, the center of gravity of the base 1003 on which the disk drive motor 1002 and the recording/reproducing head 1004 are disposed is likely to be biased toward the disk drive motor 1002. Therefore, in the conventional damping mechanism, the damping portions 1007 of which material or shape is varied depending upon the setting position, are disposed, whereby a horizontal posture of the base 1003 is realized. However, this increases the kinds of the damping portions 1007. Furthermore, different kinds of damping portions 1007 may be mixed during assembly of the apparatus, which makes it necessary to classify them.
A disk drive apparatus of the present invention, includes: a movable portion, a stationary portion disposed around the movable portion, and a damping portion disposed between the movable portion and the stationary portion for connection therebetween, the movable portion, the stationary portion, and the damping portion being disposed substantially in a plane, wherein a head for performing at least one of recording or reproducing information with respect to a disk, a head drive portion for moving the head, and a rotation drive portion for driving a disk are provided on the movable portion.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the stationary portion is disposed so as to surround the movable portion, an annular gap in formed between the movable portion and the stationary portion, and the damping portion has an annular shape and is disposed in the annular gap.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the damping portion partially connects the movable portion to the stationary portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the damping portion includes a first damping portion connected to the movable portion, a second damping portion connected to the stationary portion, and an intermediate movable portion connecting the first damping portion to the second damping portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the damping portion is made of rubber resin or silicon resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the damping portion is made of a thermoplastic elastomer.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the movable portion and the stationary portion are made of synthetic resin such as ABS resin and PBT resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the intermediate movable portion is made of synthetic resin such as ABS resin or PBT resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the damping portion includes a plurality of portions having intrinsic vibration frequencies which are different from each other.
A disk drive apparatus of the present invention, includes: a plurality of movable portions disposed separately, a stationary portion having a plurality of openings surrounding the respective movable portions, and a plurality of damping portions which are disposed between the movable portions and inner peripheries of the openings and connect the movable portions to the inner peripheries of the openings, each of the movable portions, each of the openings of the stationary portion, and each of the damping portions being disposed substantially in a plane, wherein a base is connected to each of the movable portions, and a head for performing at least one of recording or reproducing information with respect to a disk, a head drive portion for moving the head, and a rotation drive portion for driving the disk are provided on the base.
In one embodiment of the present invention, an annular gap is formed between each of the movable portions and the inner periphery of each opening of the stationary portion, and each of the damping portions has an annular shape and is disposed in each of the annular gaps.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the damping portions partially connects each of the movable portions to the inner periphery of each of the openings of the stationary portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the damping portions includes a first damping portion connected to each of the movable portions, a second damping portion connected to the inner periphery of each of the openings of the stationary portion, and an intermediate movable portion for connecting the first damping portion to the second damping portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the damping portions is made of rubber resin or silicon resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the damping portions is made of a thermoplastic elastomer.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the movable portions and the stationary portion are made of synthetic resin such as ABS resin and PBT resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the intermediate movable portions is made of synthetic resin such as ABS resin and PBT resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the damping portions includes a plurality of portions having intrinsic vibration frequencies which are different from each other.
A disk drive apparatus of the present invention, includes: a movable portion, a stationary portion disposed around the movable portion, and a damping portion and a connecting portion which are disposed between the movable portion and the stationary portion for connection therebetween, the movable portion, the stationary portion, and the damping portion being disposed substantially in a plane, wherein a head for performing at least one of recording or reproducing information with respect to a disk, a head drive portion for moving the head in a predetermined direction, and a rotation drive portion for driving the disk are provided on the movable portion.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion is disposed substantially in the plane together with the movable portion, the stationary portion, and the damping portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion has a first intrinsic vibration frequency in a first direction and a second intrinsic vibration frequency in a second direction which is different from the first direction, wherein the first intrinsic vibration frequency is lower than the second intrinsic vibration frequency.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the first direction and the second direction are different from each other, and are either of a direction substantially parallel to the plans or a direction substantially orthogonal to the plane.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the first direction and the second direction are different from each other, and are either of a movement direction of the head, a thickness direction of the disk, or a direction substantially orthogonal to the movement direction of the head and the thickness direction of the disk.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the damping portion is made of thermosetting resin or thermoplastic resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion includes a flat spring.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion contains resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion includes a first pivot portion which pivots with respect to the stationary portion, and a second pivot portion which pivots with respect to the movable portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the stationary portion, the movable portion, and the connecting portion are integrally formed with resin.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion includes a first cross-sectional portion and a second cross-sectional portion, and the second cross-sectional portion is formed in such a manner that the first intrinsic vibration frequency is lower than the second intrinsic vibration frequency.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a cross-sectional area of the second cross-sectional portion is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the first cross-sectional portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the second cross-sectional portion is formed on both ends of the connecting portion.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the second cross-sectional portion is formed at a center of the connecting portion.
According to the structure of the present invention, a space in a height direction of a disk drive apparatus is sufficiently decreased, whereby the disk drive apparatus can be rendered planar. A design flexibility of a damping mechanism can be increased even in a thin disk drive apparatus. Furthermore, only by changing the thickness and width of the damping portion, an effect of attenuating vibrations with anisotropy can be realized. Even when a movable portion with a biased center of gravity is vibrated while being maintained horizontal, the space accommodating vibrations of the movable portion can be minimized without increasing the number of components of the damping portion. Thus, internal vibrations are efficiently suppressed, and vibration resistance and shook resistance can be sufficiently kept.
The disk drive apparatus of the present invention can sufficiently keep vibration resistance and shock resistance; therefore, it becomes possible to satisfactorily record/reproduce information with respect to a disk.
Thus, the invention described herein makes possible the advantage of: providing a disk drive apparatus which is capable of increasing a design flexibility of a damping mechanism in a thin disk drive apparatus, realizing an effect of attenuating vibrations with anisotropy, minimizing a space accommodating vibrations of a movable portion with a biased center of gravity without increasing the number of components in damping portions, and sufficiently keeping vibration resistance and shock resistance.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying figures.